


Scarred

by Idiot_Savant



Series: The Exile [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angry Relationship, F/M, Frustration, Kreia is a Bitch, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Relationship Problems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 04:34:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15811473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idiot_Savant/pseuds/Idiot_Savant
Summary: Zanna Hal's temptations to lean towards the Dark Side are put to the ultimate test as she sets out to determine the fate of life, putting her relationships she has made along the way at risk.





	1. Tactical Revisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zanna Hal awakens from a tragic incident and tries to come up with her own plan. Meanwhile, Atton and Mandalore begin the search for the Jedi Master of Onderon.

 

_‘Awaken.’_

The word came quietly, like a whisper.

_‘Awaken, Exile.’_

A steady humming sound became all that could be heard, the pitch black of vision becoming less dark as the humming grew louder. Then all at once, the humming stopped- the soft sounds of voices becoming audible.

“…haven’t encountered somethin’ like this before.” The words became increasingly louder as they were spoken. “The face looks like the backend of a dewback.”

“Do you have _any_ ideas on how to fix it?”

“No.”

“Well, we still have to find that one guy, so that’s what we’ll do-even if we have to do it without Zanna.”

_Zanna…_

“Has this Hal always been like that?”

_Zanna Hal…_

“No idea. I only teamed up with her today. She seemed fine before, and then she just…snapped.”

 _I…what?_ The room became visible as the eyes began to blink open, which proved to be challenging after waking up. It was awfully bright in the room- or was it because a light was directly above?

“I wish I could help, but I ain’t trained to deal with Jedi mumbo-jumbo.”

_Jedi…I’m a Jedi…Right?_

Only a soft grunting noise came from the body that was lying on the table, but it was enough to prove that it was conscious once again. A tall man with no hair looked down to the body immediately as he heard the sound. “The patient-“ he whispered quickly. “She’s waking up.”

One of the other two people in the room, a large man sporting a full-body armored suit, stood beside the bald man next to the table. He looked down at the patient. “We should be careful,” he said to the slim man next to him. He looked behind him, where the last man was sitting down across the room on a plasteel cylinder. He was younger than the other two, his dark brown hair falling in front of his face as he sat hunched over, his hands rubbing together in a nervous fit. “You alright, boy?”

The young man shook his head, continuing to look down, and shrugged

The suited man looked back down at the patient- a young woman with silver hair that was around five feet tall. She was clothed in a sleeveless jumpsuit undergarment that ended above her knees- the doctor had requested to remove the dark green and black Jal Shey neophyte armor she had previously been wearing in order to fully examine her. What skin wasn’t covered by the undergarments was riddled with electrical burns mixed with scars, plaguing her with an irrefutably malicious appearance. “Hal?” He said. “Hal, can you hear me?”

Zanna Hal continued blinking, her eyes watering from the light hanging above her. She was breathing deeply as she tried looking around, where she saw a large figure with a silver helmet standing over her. “Mandalore?” She croaked in a whisper.

Canderous Ordo, the leader of the mandalorians (a race of warriors that dedicated their lives to battle and the honor received from it), was given the title of Mandalore- the highest honor his people could receive. He looked at her through his helmet. “You alright?” He grunted. “You went pfassking crazy a little bit ago.”

She craned her neck in an attempt to sit up, only to discover that metal restraints had been placed around her wrists, forearms, torso, thighs, and heels and were confining her to the table she was laying on. She dropped her head from the inch it was above from the table in defeat, resigned to just turning her head to look at her companion. “I… I did?” She croaked. Her face screwed up in confusion as she struggled to think. “I don’t remember that…”

Mandalore nodded. “Yeah,” his gravelly voice told her, “luckily I was there to stop you.”

She frowned. “Stop…?” She asked. “Stop what?”

He shifted his feet uncomfortably. “From, uh…” He hesitated. “You nearly murdered Atton, kid.”

Her eyes widened, her body jolting in a hasty effort to get up (which also caused the bald man in the room to jump backwards in surprise). “Atton?!” She said, her voice louder but still weak. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “No, not him! I would never-”

“But you did, Hal.” Mandalore grumbled. “I walked in on the two of you in the cantina closet. He was four or five feet in the air when I got there, and _you_ were lifting him like those Jedi do.”

“I…” She struggled for words, her heartbeat quickening. “I don’t remember…” She desperately tried to recall what Mandalore was speaking about, but just couldn’t.

“You were gonna kill him, so I incapacitated you with a hard smack of my blaster rifle to the back of your head.” He held up his weapon as if to show it as proof.

Zanna almost didn’t believe him (and didn’t _want_ to believe him), but the way the back of her head was pounding and the fact that she appeared to have woken up in some sort of medical facility was pretty solid evidence. She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “That’s impossible…” She whispered, more to herself than to Mandalore or the other man.

“Crazy? Absolutely. Impossible?” Mandalore chuckled. “Clearly not.”

She exhaled deeply before opening her eyes to look at Mandalore again. “Is he alright?” She asked him quietly.

He sighed. “From what he’s said, his neck’s sore from being choked, but other than that I think he’s fine.” He paused. “Then again, that’s just the physical aspect of it.”

“Where is he?” She barely managed to whisper.

Mandalore looked back behind him at the man sitting on the container. “He’s here.” He mumbled.

Atton Rand looked up from his seat, his face gaunt. The scoundrel remained silent as the mandalorian looked at him- something that he rarely did. Since the end of the gang’s stay on the planet of Dantooine, his usually cheery attitude and witty commentary had been smothered by Zanna’s sudden and extreme personality switch that turned deadly. He rubbed his face with one of his hands before returning his gaze back to the floor.

Zanna’s eyes glistened as her heart sunk. “He doesn’t want to see me.” She said knowingly, factually. She couldn’t blame him, of course- after almost killing him.

“It’s going to take some time.” Mandalore said. He seemed uncomfortable at the situation, so he turned to the bald man. “So, uh, what do you think is the best course of action?”

The man glanced down at Zanna. “Hard to say.” he said. His voice sounded concerned. “This is something I’ve never heard of.”

“And who are you, may I ask?” She asked.

“Hal, this is Doctor Dhagon Ghent.” Mandalore answered. “He’s an old friend and also my contact to the Onderonian palace.”

“Oh,” Zanna mumbled, craning her neck to see the doctor more clearly. “It’s nice to meet you…” She paused. “Though I wish it was in better circumstances…”

Ghent smiled in the slightest. “Same to you.” He glanced over at Mandalore. “It seems odd that she was exhibiting the behavior you’ve told me.”

Mandalore slightly raised his weapon towards Ghent. “Do you think I was lyin’?”

The doctor shook his head. “Absolutely not,” he said quickly, “though it’s highly unusual that she isn’t exhibiting the same behavior she was before you dealt with it, Canderous.”

“Hey, I never said I understand any of that Jedi sh-“

“It wasn’t _entirely_ her.” Atton said quietly from where he was sitting. He still was refusing to look up, but it was the first words he had spoken since Mandalore had saved him earlier that day.

Zanna moved her head to try to see him, his voice comforting to her, yet the strain and raspiness in it pained her- it was obvious that he had in fact been choked (or at least his throat had been harmed significantly). “Atton?” She called out.

“She said something no one but that crazy witch could have said.” He remained motionless, his head still hung, as he ignored her call.

“How do you mean?” Mandalore asked him.

“She referred to herself as ‘the Exile’ in the third person, to _me_ as a pilot and then called me a ‘fool’.” Atton cleared his throat and groaned slightly, rubbing his throat from the pain.

“Kreia.” Zanna said through gritted teeth. She was filled with rage when she thought of the old woman- the same woman who had acted as her mentor and teacher in the force and who was a companion from the very beginning. “She’s behind this.” She shook her head, her face twisting in fury. “She’s going to pay.” Her anger swelled, growing as she thought of Kreia. She began to shake in fury thinking at the thought that she had been manipulated to murder someone she cared about- even loved. The light hanging above her suddenly exploded, sparks flying towards herself as well as the doctor and Mandalore, who were covering their heads.

“Bloody hell…” Ghent muttered, staring in awe at the glass shards that were scattered on the table and the floor.

“Wh-?” Zanna gasped. She looked around frantically. “What was that?!”

“You’re stronger than ever. Probably more then you remember being.” Atton said. The explosion had caught his attention, and he was now sitting up. “That’s why she chose now to do whatever she did.”

Zanna’s eyes were wide in fear. “What do I do? How do I stop it?!”

The doctor hesitated. “I’m not sure… This is some sort of psychological manipulation on a scale I’ve never known could exist.”

“There’s still a mission to complete, though.” Mandalore said.

“Wait…” Zanna mumbled. “Where’s Kreia now?”

Mandalore looked back at Atton, both of whom looked like they were waiting for the other to answer. “Er…” Canderous grumbled. “She went with you to talk to those beast riders in the cantina, Hal.”

“That’s impossible,” Atton said shortly, “she was by herself when that happened.”

“Well she was with Hal the last time I saw her, and they were walking _in_ through the doors of the cantina.” Mandalore defended.

“So no one knows where this dangerous woman is?” Ghent asked, the concern evident in his voice.

“Evidently not…” Atton mumbled.

“Oh dear god.” Zanna said quietly, shutting her eyes. “So what do we do now?”

Atton looked up from his position to see Mandalore looking back at him. He knew that he was waiting for a response- it was really up to him, as Mandalore had no problem or reservations of working with Zanna. He shook his head, sighing. “Um…” He sat in deep thought, worrying about the possibility of Kreia breaking through and lashing out at him again. Then again, she seemed to be fine now, and it was the first time in a very long while where it seemed like the woman he had come to care for and love so much was _actually_ herself. “We’re going to continue on.” He glanced at Zanna on the table, deciding that it wasn’t worth the risk, then back up at the mandalorian. “This war’s getting closer every second. The more time we waste sitting around or hoping that people will come around for us, the sooner we’ll be to getting attacked by the Sith.” He looked back down at the ground. “Attacked _again_ , anyway.”

Zanna scowled. “Okay, you know-?”

“Hal, it ain’t worth it right now.” Mandalore said. He turned towards Atton. “And once you’re done menstruating, Rand, we can follow up with Dhagon about his potential contacts.”

“Fine.” Atton grumbled as he stood up slowly.

“Wait!” Zanna said, looking up at Mandalore, who was now walking away from her view. “What about me?”

Mandalore took a deep breath, slowly looking back at her. “We decided that…” His words were soft, almost apologetic. “For now, at least, that… that we should get things done on Iziz with just the two of us.” Seeing her aghast face, he added, “It ain’t forever, Hal. Just until things calm down, you know? I’m sorry, kid.”

“So you’re just going to leave me strapped to this table?” She cried after him. “Like a _boma_?!” She didn’t get a response from Canderous. A wave of disbelief rushed through her body. Atton’s footsteps following the mandalorian became louder, and suddenly he was in her line of sight. “Atton!” She yelled desperately. “Please, just give me one minute!”

He was barely visible to her, but he turned to look at her in his tracks. His face was gaunt and utterly pale, with dark circles under his eyes. “What?” He hissed.

“I’m so sorry.” She said quickly with as much strength as she could. “I don’t remember anything and I would never do anything to hurt you, much less try to…” She sighed. “I don’t blame you if you hate me, I really don’t, but I hope that you know that I would never, _ever_ hurt you like that.” She took a deep breath. “You probably don’t want to hear this after what happened before, but it’s because-“

“Just drop it.” Atton interrupted her, his voice low and raspy. He tugged on his ribbed jacket, straightening it out. His eyes were narrowed, his face cold.“I’ve got work to do.” He swiftly turned back around, his eyes straight ahead as he made his way to Mandalore.

Zanna lied still, slightly taken aback. She couldn’t tell what hurt more- the back of her head from Mandalore’s blow, or the sunken feeling she now felt within her chest. She took a deep breath to compose herself. _But it’s because I love you…_ she thought, concluding her sentence to him.

 _‘He doesn’t reciprocate that anymore, Hal.’_ She heard.

Zanna gasped audibly in a panic. She thought it was her own voice, but after hearing about the events from the day, she couldn’t be sure.

“You okay over there, Hal?” The doctor called from the opposite side of the room.

Her eyes darted around the room frantically. “Yeah, sorry…” She lied. “There was, a, um…really sharp pain that just came over my head is all.”

Ghent chuckled. “That’s to be expected when you get a concussion from being hit in the head by a mandalorian.”

“Yeah, go figure…” She mumbled, still hiding her terror.

“Well,” Ghent sighed, “if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be back shortly.”

“Oh, by all means, take your time.” She said sarcastically. “It’s not like I’ll be going anywhere.”

 

 

“I’m gonna cut right to the chase, Dhagon- I need to get in touch with someone from the Palace.” Mandalore stated as the doctor finally met up with them in another room attached to where the Jedi was being restrained.

Ghent nodded as he approached. “Right. Ain’t many people that can help out with that, not anymore at least. There’ve been several assassination attempts on Queen Talia. That place is locked tighter than a Hutt’s vault. I do know a few people though; who you lookin’ to get in touch with, again?”

“A Jedi Master, actually.” Canderous said.

“A Jedi Master, you say?” The doctor chuckled. “Now _that_ is interesting.”

“Why’s that?” Atton asked, coughing as he did so.

Ghent looked over at the scoundrel. “Cuz I just so happen to know one of them at the Palace.”

Atton’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well I’ll be damned…” he muttered.

Mandalore raised his voice. “So can you arrange a meeting? Or even contact him at all?”

The doctor winced, sighing. “There’s actually a slight problem with that.”

“Pfassk.” Atton cursed under his breath. “Of course there is.”

“What is it, Ghent?” Mandalore asked, growling.

“The thing is, I just went through this really grueling trial, which I’m not gonna get into details about,” he explained, “but while I was away dealing with that, a ton of scavengers came and looted a lot of my stuff. Most of it’s garbage, anyway, but I did have a couple of encrypted holodiscs that they nabbed.

“So here’s the punch line-“ he continued, “I need those discs because they got some contact information on them. Who you’re looking for ain’t someone you just walk up to and chat with-there’s a procedure to talkin’ to them, and that disc has the procedure.”

“So who in the name of bloody Malachor has them?!” Mandalore demanded. “We can take care of them; let’s just get this over with!”

“Easy, Canderous.” Ghent said, holding a hand up. “A gang leader’s got them; and they pretty much own the streets.”

“What’s the guy’s name?” Atton asked, his patience beginning to wear thin.

The doctor laughed. “I never said it was a guy.”

“So it’s a _woman_?!” Mandalore exclaimed. “For god’s sake, just tell us who we’re looking for!”  
“Fine!” Ghent cried. “She goes by Bakkel.”

Atton coughed, while simultaneously laughing incredulously as best as he could. “ _Bakkel_? You’ve got to be pfassking kidding me.”

Mandalore looked over at him. “You know this woman, Rand?”

Atton nodded, his cheeks flushing a shade of pink. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat sheepishly. “We kind of had a… history back on Nar Shaddaa.”

Mandalore groaned. “Would that history make it easier or more difficult to get that holodisc?”

He paused for a few moments, pursing his lips. “I’m…not sure.”

“Would she shoot you if she sees you?” Mandalore huffed.

“I don’t…think so?” Atton said, unsure of himself.

“Well, then this should be interesting.” Mandalore huffed. He turned back to the doctor. “We’ll get that disc back for you; where do we find this Bakkel gal?”

“She’s in the local cantina these days. Really tough, too, so be careful.” Ghent said.

“Careful?” Mandalore chuckled, bringing his blaster up. “That word doesn’t apply to me.”

“And I don’t know what that word means.” Atton added, looking at the mandalorian. “So let’s go look for some trouble.”

The two men thanked the doctor for his help and began to make their way out of his medical office and into the merchant square of Iziz- it was littered with large piles of what appeared to be trash all over the wide space with scavengers bent over searching for anything remaining of potential value. Amongst the poor scavengers, gangs of well armored beast riders walked around in packs (“Bah, they think they’re so special- I’d love to see any one of these nerfherders go up against anyone with any actual skill; they’d shit themselves in their fancy suits in a second.” Mandalore grumbled as they passed). Merchants were scattered throughout the city as well, all yelling over each other hoping to convince whoever was passing by to purchase their medpack or chemical components or whatever it was. To the right of Dhagon’s office was an incredibly tall building with bright neon lights plastered all over its exterior- the Iziz cantina.

“So,” Canderous chuckled as they walked, holding up his blaster defensively to show off he was not to be trifled with, “what went down with you and this gang leader?”

Atton rolled his eyes. “Let’s just say I wasn’t planning on seeing her again.”

Mandalore grunted. “Was it like what’s goin’ on with Hal?”

He looked over at the mandalorian. “No, nothing like this. She didn’t almost succeed in murdering me, she-“ He shook his head. “Nope, I’m not going to get into this.”

“Some words of advice;” Mandalore said with a sigh, glancing over at the young man, “Never start a relationship with someone you’re on a ship’s crew with.” He paused, shaking his head. “ _‘Specially_ if it’s the Ebon Hawk.” He mumbled to himself. “Damn thing’s cursed with Jedi shit…”

Atton looked over at him in confusion. “What was that last part?”

“Oh, nothing.” He sighed. “Just save your voice for when we finally get to this lady.”

Atton nodded. “Good idea.”

The two continued walking through the square for a little while longer until they reached the doors to the cantina, where a large alien made some noise at them- neither understanding any language other than the Basic Human language- and they walked inside. The cantina itself wasn’t too diverse from those that Atton had previously seen (and there had been quite a few on the multiple planets he had been on), though there seemed to be an elitist and speciesist mindset. Different species of aliens-Rodians seemed to be playing pazaak with each other, twi’leks were grouped together at the bar- were all socializing with their own kind. Even the humans branched off into their own classes within the Onderonian social ladder, only socializing with those of their same status. Typically cantinas on other planets, where there wasn’t quite as big of a distinction of "who's who", had mingling of all species of different statuses. That being said, it wasn’t too difficult of a challenge once inside to locate the multiple gangs that vacated the vicinity and their respective members.

The two off-worlders entered a room of the cantina, where a group of humans with quite a few members were residing, all wearing similar armored suits that the beast riders wore outside. In the middle of the room stood a woman with a relatively stern looking, yet youthful and oddly charming, face. She had light auburn hair that was slicked back into a ponytail and had two very large men standing on either side of her, one of whom she was speaking to.

Atton and Mandalore walked towards where she stood, the other gang members in the room all staring them down, glowering. Atton stopped a few feet away from the woman and crossed his arms. “Bakkel!” He yelled to her over the music.

She turned from what they assumed was a bodyguard. “What do you want, offworlder?” She asked in an accent as she wheeled around.

“This her?” Mandalore grunted to his companion.

He ignored the question. “Remember me?.”

Bakkel looked him up and down, a smirk on her face. “Atton Rand.” She pursed her lips. “It’s nice to see you with your pants _on_.”

Atton’s face fell a deep shade of red as Mandalore howled in laughter, afterwards attempting to cover up the outburst with some coughing.

Bakkel looked over at Canderous “And who might you be?”

“I am Mandalore, leader of the Mandalorians.” He said full of authority.

“So you’re working with mandalorians now, eh?” Bakkel asked to Atton. She laughed. “I thought you said you were gonna go off and do your own thing.” She raised an eyebrow. “And that’s why you left so very suddenly without so much as a goodbye after we-”

“Ah, ba-ba!” Atton let out quickly in a hasty attempt to get her to stop talking. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I’m not here to-“

“Then get on with it.” Bakkel hissed.

“You have something that belongs to Dhagon Ghent.” Mandalore answered, his voice taking a threatening tone. “I want to get it back.”

She scoffed at him. “That is not going to happen. It’s mine now.”

“Bakkel, come on,” Atton pleaded, “it’s just a holodisc.”

“And why do _you_ seem to want it so damn badly?” She cooed. “And more importantly, why should I give it to you, Rand?”

“We can do this the easy way or we can do things the deadly way. Your choice.” He told her. “Choose wisely.”

Bakkel laughed. “You should leave.”

Atton narrowed his eyes at her. He hadn’t done this in a while, but his patience of asking for things and getting rejected on the planets they’d been to was starting to wear thin. He decided to speed things up. “You will give me that holodisc and leave us alone,” he commanded her with the Force.

Her eyes widened. “Wh-?! You’re trying to use a Jedi trick!” Her face shifted into a mixture of confusion and panic. “We’ve been trained to resist such tricks but… you are no Jedi!”

Atton rolled his eyes, groaning. “Wrong choice.” He pulled his blue lightsaber out in less than a second with one hand, the other sending a wave of electricity through the two bodyguards on either side of her, instantly incapacitating them. Zanna had been teaching him force tricks and more about lightsaber combat while on Dantooine- though she was set on finding ways to hinder potential foes instead of actually killing them; something that Atton now was putting to use.

Bakkel brought her blaster up instantly. “ATTACK!” She bellowed to the other gang members in the room. The twi’lek dancers that were in the room all shrieked and ducked for cover from the sudden crossfire. Mandalore grunted as he used his own blaster to smack Bakkel’s right out of her hands as Atton was deflecting the shots the gang was firing at them. Canderous jumped up and kicked Bakkel squarely in her chest (as she was surprising tall), knocking her onto the ground. He quickly picked up her blaster and stood with one foot on top of her chest as she lied on the ground to restrain her. “Now THIS is my kind of party!” He howled in delight, twisting and ducking from a blast as he began to send rapid shots at the men around him.

Atton was sparring with a member of the gang who, instead of a firearm, possessed a battle staff that was had deadly sharp curves on either end of it. The man had scars on his face and was making very loud noises as he jabbed at the Jedi. Atton felt someone approaching him from behind, so he ducked responsibly- just missing another swing from another member with a staff, who instead of piercing Atton’s head had accidentally stabbed his fellow gang member in the neck. Atton took the opportunity to knock the second one off of his feet as the one with the scars howled in pain, blood now gushing from his jugular. Atton bashed the second one’s head with the end of his lightsaber, knocking him unconscious. “How’re you doing over there?!” He yelled to Mandalore.

“I’m having a grand time!” He bellowed in response. Mandalore had shot successfully down most of Bakkel’s men, only three more remaining. He aimed directly at one and shot him in the shoulder.

“GET OFF OF ME, YOU PRICK!” Bakkel screamed, wriggling underneath Mandalore’s boot. If it hand’t been Canderous who was standing on her, she may have been able to escape due to her surprising strength (Mandalore was somewhat struggling to keep enough pressure on her chest while simultaneously firing at her men).

He glanced down at her. “You ready to give up that disc, honey?” He yelled. “Or do you want me kill the rest of your squad?”

She growled in exasperation. “FINE!” She screamed. “Fine I’ll give you the damn disc!”

The few remaining members of the gang reluctantly raised their hands in the air slowly in defeat. Atton was looking to the man who had been stabbed, deciding if he should use the Force to help ease the bleeding. His own recent near-death encounter had seriously changed the way he had fought Bakkel’s gang as opposed to other fights he had had on this mission. He was suddenly more aware of the pain and of the possibility of life being terminated, and he didn’t want this man to die from a spontaneous brawl.

Mandalore was helping Bakkel up, chuckling. “That’s why women shouldn’t be leaders for gangs.” He said.

Bakkel had fire in her eyes after he had spoken, and her fist flew straight into his helmet with enough force to cause him to stumble a few paces backwards. “Go to hell.” She hissed.

Mandalore shook his head quickly, regaining his composure. “Not bad,” he said, utterly impressed.

Atton sauntered over back to Bakkel, a smirk on his face. “Now,” he said, raising an eyebrow, “easy way or deadly way?”

 

 

‘ _This isn’t going to be easy…’_

Zanna stood hunched behind a large plasteel cylinder that stood just outside the sliding door to the room she had been placed in, close enough to a security panel that she assumed controlled the door. She knew she needed to be out working on finding Kavar herself, and that wasn’t going to happen so long as she was confined to that bed. She had been able to focus her mind enough to be able to free herself from the restraints that the doctor had placed in the attempt to hold her down, (and even then she still wasn’t quite sure how she had been able to do so but wasn’t about to question her luck,) and was now awaiting Dhagon Ghent to return to check up on her.

 _‘This is never going to work.’_ She thought to herself, shaking her head. _‘Why am I being so stupid?’_

 _‘But you’ve got to give it a shot.’_ She convinced herself. _‘I need to be out in Iziz, not trapped like some kath hound that’s in a time-out.’_

She ducked even further as heavy footsteps became audible, growing louder as Ghent walked past where the Jedi was hiding and into the containment room.

She heard shuffled footsteps- he was looking for his missing patient. “Wh-?” Ghent uttered, aghast.

Zanna jumped up and above the cylinder, landing as quietly as possible to avoid detection. The security panel was on the opposite side of the door frame- only a few feet, yet seemingly impossible to reach without being seen. She quickly moved to the panel and began to enter the command to seal the door shut just as Ghent was looking around.

“HEY!” He yelled, eyes wide.

“Oh, crap!” Zanna muttered to herself. “C’mon, c’mon!” She fumbled with the controls as the moved towards her.

“Get away from there!” He shouted.

Zanna was furiously tapping on the screen. “I’d rather not!” She replied.

The door slid shut, just barely trapping Dhagon Ghent in the room. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

She exhaled in relief as the doctor pounded on the door. “I’m genuinely sorry about this!” She shouted to him. “You seem like a lovely person, but I need to go!” She typed in more commands, manually locking the door so Ghent could not get out.

“You are extremely unstable!” He yelled back to her. “Mandalore was right about you!”

She grinned to herself. “Good to know.” She began to walk away.

“If you don’t want to be a threat your friends, you should come back here!”

She stopped dead in her tracks. “What did you say?”

“If you want your friends to remain unharmed, I’d suggest isolating yourself.” He paused on the other side of the door. “You don’t want to _murder_ anyone, do you?”

Her heartbeat quickened as she felt the familiar rage flowing through her. She walked right up to the door. “ _I_ didn’t do _anything_ ,” she said through gritted teeth, “and I never will. The only threat here is that my brain has been infiltrated by a deranged Sith.” She took a stray piece of silver hair and tucked it behind her ear. “And I’m goingto do whatever it takes to get It out.” She spun around on her heels and sprinted down the facility hallway.

 _‘Focus, Hal.’_ She told herself. _‘Find a weapon, find some clothes, and get the pfassk out of this building.’_

She had a hunch that her dual silver lightsabers wouldn’t be so easily accessible as to be in the room she had been held in, so it was just a matter of finding their location in the building. She entered the first room she came across in the hallway, where a young man with short, shaved hair wassitting in a chair and leaned against one of the walls. He had pazaak cards in either hand, shuffling them with a dead expression on his face. He noticed Zanna entering the room and grinned at her. “Nice to meet you, sentient. I’m Nikko.” He said. He held up one of his hands and gestured towards the cards. “Are you interested in a friendly game of pazaak?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m actually-“

“The company’s amiable and my deck is warm.” He leaned in, raising an eyebrow. “Can I tempt you?”

Zanna stared at him in disgust. “I’m going to have to pass. Look, have you-“

“Oh, come on!” Nikko protested. “Dhagon has been too busy to play, and I promise it’ll be a challenging-“

His sentence was cut short, as Zanna had suddenly sprung forward and covered his mouth with her left hand, the other swatting the colored cards out of his hands and onto the floor. “Let me try this again,” she said quietly yet threateningly as she stooduncomfortably close to him, “and I swear on the Force if you mention _anything_ about your deck again, this is going to be a lot more painful than it needs to be, okay?”

His eyes were wide in fear, but he nodded his head quickly in understanding.

“Excellent.” She leaned in closer to him, her face inches away from his. “Do you know where the doctor puts his patients’ belongings?” She eased the pressure she was exerting to keep his mouth shut so he could answer.

“R-r-right, well,” he stuttered, “I-I could be wrong, and please don’t kill me if I am, but usually h-he keeps the gear he takes from the patients in his office.”

“And where might that be?” She asked.

“Down the hall, to the right, and it’ll be on the door on your left,” He said, looking utterly terrified.

She patted the sides of his face as if he were a child. “Thanks. You’ve been a great help.” She turned back around to exit, then paused. She swung back around and pointed at him. “You know, if you want to play pazaak, there’s a scruffy looking scoundrel called Rand you should talk to. He loves pazaak.” She swiveled around and headed to where Nikko had told her. “Maybe it’ll distract him enough to keep him out of my way…” She mumbled to herself as she walked out the door.

 _‘Down the hall…’_ She repeated to herself, her legs taking her in the direction it was told. _‘To the right…’_ She paused in front of a door with a plaque that had the doctor’s name on it. “Well this looks like an office to me.”

She eagerly pressed the entry button next to the door, which instantly slid the door open, granting her access to the office. She walked through the doorway into a surprisingly spacious room that had metal lockers lining the walls in thin rows in columns of three with a lavish desk seated right in the entrance of the room. “Damn,” Zanna mumbled to herself, looking around the large and expensive looking office. “Maybe I should be a doctor after all this is over…” She scanned the office, analyzing the lockers.

 _‘Now where are you…?’_ She thought. _‘It won’t be long until Ghent gets someone else’s attention- or finds another way out.’_ She realized after eyeballing the rows that they appeared to be organized somewhat alphabetically after spotting an “A” above the first set on the far left of the room. “H…” She whispered to herself, hurriedly walking up and down the rows. “B…C…” She thought out loud as she jogged, weaving through the metal maze. She stopped in her tracks when she finally saw the correct letter. “There you are.” She began frantically opening up locker after locker- “Spare parts…Plasma torch…Gas mask…” She stopped, scratching her head.

 _‘It’s not here.’_ She thought, her heart dropping. _‘Must be by first name- Z…Z…’_ She was now running to the opposite side of the room, desperately hoping that her gear would be in one of the lockers. _‘It has to be there…Right? Where else would it be?’_

She approached the final row of lockers, not even attempting to be careful or quiet opening up the lockers one by one. “Come on…Come on…” She whispered. She took a deep breath as she approached the last few. Her heart skipped a beat as she opened up one of the lockers in the middle of the column, where she instantly recognized the Jal Shey neophyte armor in green and black. “YES!” She exclaimed happily, grabbing the heap of armor and pulling it out of the locker. She was thrilled she didn’t have to roam around Iziz in her undergarments; especially after a good look at her exposed skin made her realize how scarred her body was now. She shook her head, eager to grab her weapons and get out of the office- but they were not in the locker. “What?” She breathed. Her hands shook as she felt around in the locker, which, apart from the armor, was completely empty. “No…” She shook her head. “Where the hell-“

“Are these what you came searching for?” Came a female voice.

Zanna wheeled around, hearing the familiar sound of lightsabers igniting and the hum that came with it.

A slim and toned woman stood a few yards away before her, the silver dual lightsabers in her hands. She was clothed in a white ensemble, her face covered by her hood. “What is a Jedi without their weapon?” Her voice was smooth, without any sort of malice or anger in the tone.

Zanna’s breathing was rapid as she stared at the woman. “Those are dangerous,” she told her slowly, hesitantly walking forward, “if you don’t know how to use them properly.”

“I have no intent on using them myself.” The woman said. The silver blades retracted back into the hilts. “I took them to ensure they fell back into _your_ hands.” She slowly walked forward, extending her hands and the lightsabers to the young Jedi.

Zanna looked at her curiously, then cautiously grabbed the weapons without any sort of resistance from the woman. She narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?”

The woman pulled her white hood down, revealing her face- she had rosy lips and steel blue eyes, perfectly complimenting her white hair that was in a pixie cut (save two small braids on either side of her face). She raised a white eyebrow, a smirk on her face. “You could say I’m a concerned acolyte. ”

Zanna’s eyes widened. “I recognize you;” she said, bewildered. “You’re one of Atris’ handmaidens.”

“My name is Brianna, the Last Handmaiden-” She took a step closer to the Jedi. “And I am here to help you, Zanna Hal.”

 


	2. Unforeseen Contingencies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A search on the planet for Zanna goes horrifically wrong, permanently altering the crew of the Ebon Hawk.

“I cannot sense Zanna’s presence with the numerous other life sources in this congested place.” Visas Marrs proclaimed.

“Well, try harder, dammit!” Mira cried in aggravation.

“Easy there, Red.” Bao-Dur said calmly, holding a hand up to the young red-head. “She’s doing all she can.”

The bounty hunter groaned as the group walked to the main courtyard of the Iziz spaceport. “That won’t stop that old harpy from making Z a Sith now, will it?”

“I understand that you are worried;” the Disciple Mical said to Mira. “Especially due to your strong comradeship with Atton, but successfully locating someone having no current knowledge of their whereabouts or any previous experience navigating through this foreign city is going to be a challenge not even a powerful seer and Jedi such as Visas will be able to complete with total ease.”

Visas looked at the Disciple with admiration as Mira made a face of disgust. “Now’s not the time for you to pursue your weird relationship, blondie.”

“Although he does have a point.” Bao-Dur said thoughtfully. “Finding the General in this city isn’t going to be the easiest thing we’ve done.”

Mira snorted. “Can’t be harder than patching up that piece of shit shuttle from the camp.”

Bao-Dur nodded thoughtfully. “You’ve got a point.”

After Zanna, Atton, Kreia and Mandalore had left for Iziz, the rest of the Ebon Hawk’s crew had come upon the horrible realization that Kreia had manipulated Zanna in the hopes of turning her to the Dark Side. The group had never particularly trusted the old woman and had their reservations about her, but they also knew she was incredibly powerful in the ways of the Force. They (more specifically Mira) became concerned that this manipulation would cause Zanna to do something drastic and possibly fatal to Atton or Mandalore, so they consulted the lead technician in the mandalorian camp, Zuka, to find an alternate route of transportation from the jungle moon of Dxun to the capital city on the planet Onderon. However, mandalorians weren’t exactly gifted in making repairs or anything related to technology in general, so the only option for the crew to get to Iziz was to fix a dangerously damaged and old, rusted shuttle so it was once again operable. Luckily for Zuka and the Hawk’s team, Mira and Bao-Dur were expertly trained in repairs and were the designated “techs” of the party; so after a few hours of hard work, the mandalorian shuttle was flying straight to the Onderonian space port and docked in Iziz.

“The success of the transportation repair aside,” Visas continued, “we still have no leads on how or where to find the Exile.”

Mical stopped in his tracks as they entered Iziz’s merchant quarter, his face lightening up. “Perhaps it is not she who we will find first.” He said with a thoughtful smile.

The group turned around to face him as he spoke, all four of them looking surprised. “What do you mean?” Bao-Dur asked.

“Well, we are entirely certain we can’t be sure on Zanna’s whereabouts,” the Disciple explained, “though if we assume Atton has come to the same knowledge we have acquired about her, that Atton would have fled somewhere for refuge.”

Mira shrugged. “What’re you getting at, blondie?”

Mical grinned. “Where is the one place we know assuredly Atton would be if he was confined to be in this city if not at Zanna’s side?”

The three all perked up. “Mother of moons…” Bao-Dur mumbled knowingly.

“A cantina.” Mira concluded with a smirk.

Bao-Dur nodded approvingly. “I’m impressed.”

Mira laughed. “That was a surprisingly amazing idea. I’ve got to hand it to you, blondie, that was awesome. Way to go.”

“You two do not give him nearly as much recognition as he deserves.” Visas said somewhat defensively. “He has insights like this all the time- the only reason you heeded his thought now instead of prior to this moment is solely because it involves that pilot.”

“Alright, I complimented him; now take it easy.” Mira said.

Mical looked proud as he faced the techs. “Thank you to you both.”

“We have yet to actually find this place, though.” Said Visas. “None of us have walked this city before, so how are we to find it?”

“They’re usually found in pretty populated areas;” Bao-Dur noted, “so long as we keep walking, we shouldn’t have a problem.”

Mical cleared his throat authoritatively. “Now, let us search for an establishment that offers up drinking and gambling- when we do, me may find Atton.”

Mira pointed ahead dramatically and bellowed, “To the bar!”

 

 

“C’mon! Just one quick hit before we leave!” Mandalore whined.

Atton glared at him disapprovingly. “This is kind of important.”

“What’s the point of going into a bar without getting a drink?!” He protested.

“Can I go now?” Bakkel asked, who had both of her arms behind her back being held by the mandalorian. “I gave you the stupid holodiscs like you asked.”

Atton turned to face her. “That’s true, but I know that you’ll just scamper off and find more of your gang buddies and pester us some more-“ he shook his head with a smirk. “And that’s one less thing we need right now.”

Bakkel laughed. “Aw, too gizka? Too afraid, eh Rand?”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.” He said shortly.

“Well, either way, you’re in trouble.” Bakkel threatened. “As soon as I walk out those doors, I’m telling every bounty hunter and beast rider to point their blasters at you- especially now I know you’re a Jedi.”

Atton raised an eyebrow in concern. “Bounty hunters?” He asked. “What specific bounty hunters?”

Bakkel sighed. “Some newbie twi’lek who somehow cultivated a decent following even though he’s not at all equipped to be a bounty hunter, these two chicks really weird chicks from Nar Shaddaa, not to mention the others from-“

“What do you know about the two from Nar Shaddaa?” Atton demanded.

“Uh…” Bakkel was slightly taken aback by his sudden sense of urgency. “They’re here for a Jedi, I think. But from what I’ve heard, they're insane.” She paused. “Wait, are they here for YOU?”

“Pfassk.” Atton said under his breath. “Speaking of things we don’t need right now…” He looked up at Mandalore. “Alright, look for somewhere we can stash her for a bit so she doesn’t go blabbering about us.”

Mandalore chuckled. “On it.”

“Wait, what?!” Bakkel cried as Mandalore yanked her around in search for a place to put her. “This is outrageous!”

Atton saluted to her as Mandalore found a vacated supply closet in the private room. “Good to see you again, Bakkel, but I hope this is the last time I see you at all.”

“RAND!” She screamed as Mandalore pushed her into the closet. She pounded on the door. “YOU’RE GOING TO REGRET THIS!”

Mandalore chuckled, facing Atton. “She’s got spunk.”

“More than you know,” Atton mumbled, walking out of the room.

“So what’s this bounty hunter you seemed so concerned about?” He asked the pilot, catching up to him.

“Hopefully we don’t have to worry about it.”

“I don’t like being unprepared, Rand.” Mandalore stated. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Atton groaned. “Fine. Long story short, there’s a really vengeful bounty hunternamed Ren’Li who’s out to get Mira because she thinks she left her girlfriend, Mission-“

“Twi’lek?” Mandalore asked abruptly, interrupting.

“Er…no.” Atton said. “She’s human. They were all a part of this bounty hunter gang, and now there’s only two left- Ren’Li, who’s an actual genius, and Kyra, who’s an actual psychopath. Not only are they after Mira, but they’re also trying to get Zanna back to cash in the bounty for Jedi.”

“Back?” Mandalore asked in confusion. “Like they took her before?”

“Like I said, it’s a long story.” Atton said as they exited the front door of the cantina. The sun’s light was retiring, the blue of the night slowly overcoming the warm oranges that came with the sunset. “But they aren’t primarily looking for me, and I know for a fact they aren’t looking for you, so we should be fine.”

Mandalore nodded, looking around at the merchant square. “Well then, it’s a good thing that Mira didn’t come-“

“ATTON!”

The pair spun around as his name was called. Atton’s eyes widened in shock. “ _Mira?_ ”

Sure enough, Mira, along with Bao-Dur, Visas and Mical, were on the other side of the merchant square. The bounty hunter switched to a run when she had seen Atton, the others following close behind.

“Well, if that ain’t the most ironic thing…” Mandalore mumbled.

She ran up to her friend and threw her arms around him. “Thank the Force we found you!”

Atton pushed her away in concern, and quickly looked around. “Red, what are you doing here?!” He asked quickly.

“To warn you.” Bao-Dur answered.

“About what?” Mandalore asked in exasperation.

“The Exile.” Visas said. “We have seen some startling footage that-“

“She may be becoming a Sith.” Mical finished.

Atton put a hand to his forehead. “Oh my god,” he groaned, “we already knew that.”

Mira’s face twisted into surprise. “What? How?”

“She tried to kill me.” Atton replied quietly.

“She wouldn’t…” Mical said, shaking his head.

“It is obvious that Kreia has a stronger hold on the Exile than we had thought.” Visas observed. “I do believe that she is under her influence.”

Mandalore chuckled. “No shit.”

“We came to warn you just in case she-“ Bao-Dur started.

“No time.” Atton interrupted, beginning to briskly walk forward. He gestured for the group to follow him. “We need to get this to Mandalore’s contact.” He looked to his side, where Mira was jogging to keep up. “And _you_ need to stay out of sight.”

“What?!” She whined. “Why?”

“Kyra and Ren’Li are in Iziz,” Atton explained in a hushed tone, “for sure. We ran into someone I know that confirmed they’re here and that they’re looking for you.”

Mira growled. “Let them come. I’ll kick their asses myself.”

“Please don’t.” Atton said begrudgingly.

“What, you don’t think I can take ‘em?” She defended.

Atton looked over at her seriously. “I don’t want you to get yourself killed, Red. M.A.R.K 4 has already come to close to hurting you for my taste, and I sure as hell don’t want you to die because of some pfassking revenge plot.” He sighed. “I just…” He shook his head. “You know?”

Mira tilted her head. “What?”

“I care about you, Red. I really do.” Atton said. “I need you here. We all do. Especially Zan; no matter how deep down it is. So please just promise that you’ll at least _try_ to stay hidden? Please?”

Mira walked in silence for a moment. “Fine.” She looked up at him. “Did she really try to-?”

“Kreia most certainly did. That much I know for sure.” He shook his head. “She went off the deep end so quickly, Red, you have no idea. Her eyes were completely white… she didn’t even look like herself.”

She bit her lip. “I’m really sorry, Rand. We’ll get her back.” She gingerly reached out and put a hand on his arm. “Okay?”

He smiled at her. “Thanks.”

Mandalore grumbled behind them. “Keep it moving, kids.”

Visas and Mical walked side by side in the back of the party, as they usually did. “How have none of us been able to feel Kreia’s influence upon Zanna before now?” The Disciple wondered, whispering to Visas. “I feel it unusual that we, as mostly Jedi, were unable to sense such darkness.”

“Having that darkness in one’s soul is not uncommon;” Visas explained, “but it can become possible to camouflage it, to deflect it if one is powerful enough. I believe Kreia is egregiously powerful to do such a thing.”

“But it also was so utterly sudden,” Mical said, “it wasn’t such an extremity of change before today, was it?”

Visas shook her head. “As my master once told me, ‘It is such a quiet thing, to fall.’ The Dark Side of the Force is strong, and if you allow It for even a moment to speak to you, and you choose to listen, it shall consume you quicker than a blade through the heart can destroy you.”

Mical shook his head. “Is it possible to fix this? Fix _her_?” He asked.

Visas sighed. “I am unsure. With such a strong bond the two of them sure, I am afraid that it may not be possible.”

“Bonds…” Mical mumbled in thought as the party approached Dhagon Ghent’s office. “Force bonds to such an extreme seems somewhat implausible… although…”

“Although what?” Visas asked eagerly. “Have you learned about them in your studies?”

“I feel as if I ought to remember I have; though… I cannot recall such information now.” He sighed in frustration. “It is a sliver of a memory, but-“

“Did you hear that?” Mira said loudly from up ahead.

“Hear what?” Atton asked.

“It sounded like some sort of crash.”

“I think I heard it, too.” Bao-Dur added.

The group fell silent to listen to whatever Mira was talking about, when the sound of muffled struggling became audible. “Where’s that coming from?” Bao-Dur asked.

“It’s close.” Mandalore observed. “Let’s go.”

The party continued cautiously down the hallway, all having a hand near their respective weapons in preparation. The sounds became louder and louder, until it became evident it was coming from behind a door of the office. Atton reached to push it open. “It’s locked.” He proclaimed.

“Ain’t never stopped me before.” Mandalore said gruffly. “HYA!” He cried, kicking the door down.

“Oh my god!” Mira exclaimed as they entered the room.

A young man was strapped by leather bands to a chair that evidently had toppled over, with medical tape across his mouth. He gave muffled shouts of relief when the group came inside, jerking his body up and down in an attempt to get free from the chair.

“Mother of moons…” Mical whispered as Atton and Mandalore picked the chair so it was upright.

“Hang on,” Mira quelled the man, taking off the tape after he had been lifted back up. “You’re okay.”

Bao-Dur and Visas had begun to free him of the leather bands as Mira took the tape off of his mouth. “Oh, thank you!” He cried happily. “I thought I was gonna be stuck here.”

“What happened here?” Mandalore asked.

“I’m Nikko, and I’m an old buddy of Dhagon’s.” He explained. “Come here a lot when in my spare time. He had some weird patient here today, so I was waiting longer than usual. So I was here just minding my own business when this crazy girl comes in demands to know where the patient’s stuff is, and threatens me doing so. Of course, I say yes, and then she tells me that she’ll pay me big time if I give the same info to someone else who was gonna come by.”

“Who was this woman?” Atton asked.

Nikko shook his head. “No idea. Then, this second girl comes by and asks me, so I tell her because I’m getting paid, right? She leaves, and then the first chick comes back and pfassking ties me up and locks the door! And she didn’t even pay me!”

“What did these women look like?” Bao-Dur asked him.

“Erm,” Nikko mumbled, scratching his head, “first one was hard to say-had a white hood and couldn’t really see the face.”

“What about the second?!” Mira asked eagerly.

“Oh, man, she was a mess. Looked really worn out. Had scars all over, and she had some crazy messy grey hair.”

“Damn.” Atton muttered in frustration. “That was Zanna.”

“Where’s the doctor?!” Mandalore demanded.

“You know, I have no idea!” Nikko confessed. “I’ve been sort of busy being tied up here.”

Mandalore and Atton ran out through the door, the others following suit.

“What’s going on?” Mical shouted.

“Shut up and keep up!” Mandalore yelled back.

Atton shook his head. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

They continued to where they had left Zanna and Dhagon Ghent, not even an hour ago, and found a sealed door. “Hello?!” Came a muffled voice from the other side. “Nikko, is that you?!”

“Hang on, Ghent!” Mandalore shouted.

Bao-Dur had taken the liberty of controlling the security console. “One sec!”

“Dammit, Z…” Mira mumbled.

The door opened to reveal the doctor inside. “Oh, thank the Force!” He cried. “I-“

“What the hell is going on?!” Atton yelled angrily.

“The patient-“ Dhagon exhaled. “She’s escaped.”

Atton punched the wall to his right in fury as Mira stomped right up to the doctor. “What do you mean, she escaped?!” She cried.

“I mean exactly what I said!” Ghent hissed.

“How is that possible?!” Visas asked.

The doctor shook his head. “I have absolutely no idea, but she did.”

“So…” Mical said slowly, “Zanna is now wandering around this city, without any of our knowledge of where she could be, while simultaneously being converted to the Dark Side?”

“Basically…” Bao-Dur muttered in defeat.

“Well, we do know at least two things.” Atton said after calming down momentarily.

“What’s that?” Mira asked.

He raised an eyebrow. “First, she’s still going to try to find Kavar.”

“And the second?” Mical asked.

Atton pursed his lips. “She’s not alone anymore.”

 

 

“I really think you should just leave me alone.” Zanna said to the handmaiden,Brianna, walking briskly through the streets of Iziz. The night had approached quickly, the sky showing signs that the sun had recently set. _‘I can’t believe I’ve been out of it all day.’_

“I can help you!” Brianna insisted, trying to keep up with the Jedi. “Atris wouldn’t have sent me in the first place if she didn’t-“

“She sent you because she doesn’t trust me!” Zanna said angrily. She suddenly stopped to look at the woman. “And you shouldn’t, either.”

Brianna’s blue eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Zanna glanced down at the ground, sighing in exasperation. “Because right now, I’m unpredictable. I don’t know what’s going on in my head, but there’s someone else trying to control me, and she’s doing one hell of a job.”

“But-“

“I could suddenly go crazy and murder you on the spot.” She said seriously. “I almost did to one of the people closest to me, so it could happen to you.”

“I know about this.” Brianna said calmly.

Zanna raised an eyebrow. “How?” She asked, unconvinced.

“I’ve known you’d be arriving in Iziz for quite some time. I’ve taken it upon myself to find you and to assist you inyour purpose; so I began to follow you once you stepped foot in the city.”

Zanna’s lips coiled in confusion. “Atris’ servants aren’t allowed to leave their mistress, though, are they?” She asked. “How’d you get here?”

Brianna’s lip twitched. “I can’t say.”

“Why not?”

“I have sworn to Her I wouldn’t.” She said quietly.

Zanna nodded her head, laughing. “Ah, of course. And I’m guessing you also aren’t permitted to say why you’re helping me?”

“That choice was _my own_.” Brianna said. “My orders were to observe you here in Iziz, nothing more.”

“Then why are you helping me?”

Brianna looked down at the ground, shaking her head. “I… I can’t tell you. Not now, anyways.”

Zanna rolled her eyes. “Alrighty then; I’m going to get going, and you’re going to go back to that ice academy and back to Atris.” She smiled insultingly. “Okay?”

“I told you my intentions, and I meant every word of it.” Brianna said defiantly. “I’m here to help you, Zanna. For reasons I can’t disclose right now, I would never be able to live with myself if I just sit and stand idle.”

Zanna stared at her carefully. “It must be something really big, if you’re willing to break your oath and disobey Atris, huh?”

Brianna nodded gravely. “Absolutely. I promise you, you’ll want my help.”

She stared at the handmaiden for a few moments. “Fine. I’ll let you tag along; but the contingencies of helping me could be fatal.”

“Understood.” She responded. “And I don’t care. What you fight is something bigger than even _you_ can handle, Exile.”

Zanna looked at her, baffled. “Alright, if you’re going to be this cryptic the whole time, we’re going to have a problem.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“It’s fine.” The Jedi looked around at the merchant quarter, which was considerably less inhabited than she remembered it was before the accident. “We should probably turn in for the night. I know I’m not going to be able to find who I’m looking for now.”

“I shall meet up with you in the morning then?” Brianna suggested.

Zanna sighed and looked behind her doubtfully. “I probably shouldn’t go back to Ghent’s office… They’ll probably just lock me up even more meticulously than I was before. I’ll just hide out through the night and think of a plan.”

Brianna looked at her carefully. “You aren’t going to talk with your friends first?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She said, shaking her head with a sigh. “Especially after I broke outta there. They’re not going to be too happy about that.”

The handmaiden looked around the merchant square, then back at Zanna. “I have been occupying a small hideout in an abandoned swoop racetrack, if you’d like some shelter- not to mention that you are still a target and it wouldn’t be too wise to be out and vulnerable to attack all night.”

Zanna smiled. “If you don’t mind me tagging along, that would be great.”

Brianna returned her smile and bowed slightly. “Of course I don’t mind.”

“Well, thank you, then.”

“Of course, Exile.” Brianna said warmly. She began walking, gesturing the Jedi to follow her.

“By the way,” she said to her new companion, “you can call me Zanna.”

 

 

_‘Get away from her, she’s a Dark Jedi!’ Atton cried._

_The scene was one Zanna had experienced multiple times now- it was the same nightmare reliving her trial in a Sith tomb on Korriban. She was standing before a dark-cloaked Sith woman, grey braids peeking out from her hooded and wrinkled face. ‘Atton, it’s Kreia!’ She shouted to him. ‘Get out of here!’_

_Just like the previous dreams she had had, the rest of her companions appeared seemingly out of thin air. They all wielded their respective weapons and were circling the Sith, their faces made up of pure spite._

_‘You’ve been lying to us for too long.’ Mira spat._

_‘We should have gotten rid of you before you could do us any harm.’ Bao-Dur said angrily._

_‘We shall no longer play the Fools in your twisted and dark game.’ Visas declared._

_‘I will not live with myself if we do not get rid of the threat- if we do not get rid of YOU.’ Mical said in fury,_

_‘I should’ve known better.’ Atton said through gritted teeth. ‘I hunted down Jedi like you, I knew exactly how to MURDER evil people like you…’ He shook his head. ‘I blame myself for even allowing you to live after I met you.’_

_The Sith woman chuckled evilly, sending a chill through Zanna’s spine. Her heartbeat quickened as the Dark Jedi slowly reached up and pulled the hood down. Zanna screamed in fear as she looked not at Kreia’s face, but her own. Her silver hair in braids, her scarred skin feigning wrinkles of old age, white eyes- she had tricked everyone, including herself, that she was the old woman. The group gasped in terror and began to back away._

_‘You let me me become this way,’ the Sith Zanna hissed, ‘you ALL let me become this way.’_

_Mical bravely lunged forward in an attempt to strike the Sith. ‘Your wicked ways end now!’ He cried._

_The Sith laughed and, in an instant, picked him up with the Force off of the ground and crushed him inwardly, killing him without hesitation. She flung his body like a rag doll to the side. ‘Who’s next?!’ She bellowed._

_The group hesitantly looked around at each other, none knowing what to do._

_Zanna looked at her friends desperately. ‘Come on!’ She yelled. ‘We can take her!’ She ran to Atton and grabbed his hand- but she couldn’t. She realized that her friends had no idea she was there with them; for the only version of her that was there was the Sith that was standing before them._

_‘That’s what I thought.’ The Sith woman said with a smirk. ‘From henceforth, Zanna Hal no longer exists.’ She looked directly at the trembling Zanna._

_‘What…?’ Zanna breathed._

_‘You are Darth Excidiya now.’_

_‘This is your future- EMBRACE IT.’ She heard._

_She turned around where Kreia was standing. ‘GET AWAY!’ Zanna screamed._

_‘EMBRACE IT, EXCIDIYA…’_

 

“Zanna?”

“SITH’S BLOOD!” Zanna instantly awoke, flailing her body at the sudden revival and consequently accidentally smacking Brianna in the face.

“Ow!” She exclaimed shortly.

Zanna sat up quickly. “I’m so sorry!” She said.

Brianna reached for her nose, which had become a slight pink. “It’s alright, you didn’t mean to.”

The Jedi’s breathing was rapid. She took a deep breath as she brought her knees close to her head, rubbing her face with her hands. “What time is it?”

“About half hour until it’s mid-day.”

“What?!” Zanna looked up at the handmaiden aghast. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I- I didn’t know I was supposed to,” Brianna said quietly. “And I thought it would be good for you to get some sufficient rest. You’ve been through quite a lot the past week.”

Zanna inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. “I admit, I didn’t say anything about waking me up. Although next time, please do so as soon as the sun’s up. We’ve got too much to do, and now half the day’s gone.”

Brianna bowed humbly. “Of course. I apologize.”

Zanna stood up from her make-shift bed on the cold, dusty floor of the abandoned swoop track Brianna had been hiding in while she was in Iziz. There were several other scavengers who had used it for shelter scattered about the large and empty arena, though most were now up and about in the merchant square to look for anything of value. “Don’t apologize; you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Brianna retracted her double-sided echani staff so it was easier to carry and snapped it to her white belt. “What’s the plan for the day, then?”

“Well, the main thing on my to-do list is to somehow find a Jedi Master here. I overheard Ghent at his office that he’s at the palace now-“

“Oh, that’s not even an option.” Brianna said shortly, interrupting.

Zanna glared at her in annoyance. “And why do you say that?”

“Come, I’ll show you.” Brianna beckoned the Jedi to follow her once again out of their hideout and onto the yellow streets of Iziz. They walked through the merchant square, where it was just as hectic with vendors yelling at passerby's than the day before. There was a considerable congestion of Iziz citizens patrolling the streets with the occasional officers as well as several soldiers under General Vaklu- cousin of Onderonian Queen Talia and sharp military leader seeking to overthrow her- walking along, contempt in their eyes and blasters up at the ready. Finally they exited the square and crossed the street, where Brianna stopped. “Here we are.”

“Okay, so what’s going on?” Zanna snapped. She was already irritated about the hours she wasted by sleeping and was also deterred by her eerie nightmare, so she was in no mood for cryptic or time-consuming lectures.

Brianna pointed across the street. “See that?” She asked.

Zanna looked forward, where there were several guards bearing the Onderonian crest on their uniforms stationed in front of a ramp. Behind the guards was a massive fence, where there were innumerable soldiers pacing back and forth. “What about it?”

“That is the only entrance to the Queen’s Palace.” The handmaiden explained. “I have surveyed this entrance and was seeking out an alternative route for weeks before you arrived. The majority of Queen Talia’s military is beyond that gate and they have considerable security measures in case someone gets by their forces. Trying to go in alone is suicide. You are powerful, but not even you can get past an entire army alone.”

“Damn…” Zanna muttered in anger. “What am I gonna do now…” She began to walk numbly down a narrow street as she thought. The two walked in silence for a few minutes as they walked in between high apartment buildings, both unsure of how to proceed.

Brianna scratched her head nervously after a while. “Who’s Excidiya?” She asked hesitantly.

Zanna snapped her head, her shock at hearing the name exhibiting itself in fear. “What did you say?!”

The handmaiden quickly turned her attention to the ground, cheeks turning red. “I apologize, Exile. You spoke of someone named Excidiya as you slept…”

 _‘Excidiya…’_ She heard in her head. Despite her best efforts of being repulsed or scared of the name, she couldn’t- the name almost felt natural. She shook her head in disbelief. _‘Excidiya! Do not turn away from your destiny.’_

“Shut up,” Zanna muttered.

“Forgive me, Zanna.” Brianna said, thinking the Jedi had been speaking to her.

“Oh, not you!” Zanna insisted. “No, you’re fine; don’t worry about it.”

Brianna stared at her companion. “Are you alright?” She asked sincerely.

_‘Everything’s perfect.’_

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Zanna said, shaking her head. She began to move faster. “Let’s just get moving.”

The two walked speedily, the handmaiden’s worry evident on her face. She thought it best to not pester the Jedi any further, so she turned the topic of the conversation back to the mission at hand. “Your friends WERE in the process of contacting this Jedi master, right?”

Zanna nodded heavily. “Right.”

“So I think that going back and-“

“I can’t go back to them.” She said loudly. There was a hint of malice in her tone that was unsettling to herself; especially after that dream. She took a deep breath. “Atton still thinks I’m going to slip and murder him, and Mandalore probably won’t help me now I’ve escaped.”

“Why do you think that?” Brianna asked.

“Something about ‘honor’, I’m sure,” Zanna shrugged. The street they had started down opened up into a circular opening, with a fountain in the center. There wasn’t any other outlet to another street. “But there’s nothing more here.” She groaned as she began to turn around. “So we might as well-“ She stopped dead in her tracks.

Mical and Visas stood in front of her. “Zanna?” Mical called out in relief. “Oh, it really _is_ you!”

The two walked quickly towards the Jedi, whose face was that of shock. “Wh-What…?” She stuttered as Mical embraced her in a hug. “What the pfassk are you two doing here?”

“We came to this city because we had learned the terrible truth of what is happening to you.” Visas explained. “We found the pilot and the mandalorian, and once we discovered you had escaped, we were sent out to locate you.”

“We’ve been searching for you all morning!” Mical said. “But we have finally succeeded.”

Zanna furrowed her brows in confusion. “Why did you want to find me?”

“Was that question rhetorical?” Mical asked, slightly laughing.

“I just figured you all wouldn’t want to be around me because of…” She shook her head. “Because of what’s happening.”

“While this darkness is something to be cautious about,” Visas said, “it does not mean we are to completely stop our mission.”

“But-“

“Who is this?” Visas asked, interrupting Zanna. She gestured towards Brianna.

The white haired woman bowed. “I am Brianna, last of the handmaidens.”

Zanna rolled her eyes. “She’s one of Atris’ servants.”

“And I am here to assist the Exile until the end of her journey.” Brianna declared.

“Any assistance we can acquire, the better.” Mical said happily.

“So,” Zanna began, “I’m still unclear of why you needed to find me?”

Mical smiled at her. “Zanna, we have contacted Kavar successfully.”

Zanna’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you serious?!”

“He is going to be at the cantina within the hour.” Visas confirmed. “And it must be _you_ that speaks with him. _That_ is why we have come to find you.”

“Well, that’s not why _I_ came to find you!” Shouted a familiar voice.

The group looked to the source of the voice.

Zanna felt the familiar rage flooding her body as she saw a tall woman with mocha skin and a mess of brown, curly hair. “Kyra.” She hissed. She drew her dual lightsabers and instantly ignited them. “Don’t make a single move, or I end you right now.”

Kyra laughed where she was standing, her left hand holding a sonic blaster while the right was equipped with a wrist launcher that had immobilizing, poison, and an assortment of other darts. “I wouldn’t say that if I were you.” She had the same insane grin on her face she had when she was torturing Zanna on Nar Shaddaa.

“And _you_ should not cross her!” Mical shouted.

Zanna glanced over at him. “Mical, let me handle this, okay? She’s pfassking crazy.”

“Well, that’s not very nice.” Kyra said with a frown. “All I did was follow your every move, wait until there was no other means of escape and make my presence known!” She laughed. “I would hardly categorize that as crazy.”

“What do you want, you heathen?!” Zanna demanded with a snarl.

“No need for name calling.” The bounty hunter said coolly, the blaster aimed and locked on Zanna’s head. “I’m here for what that shithead of an accomplice of mine let escape.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’m here for my bounty, Jedi.”

“No way in hell.” Zanna growled.

Kyra sighed. “I really don’t want to make things messy, but I will if you don’t cooperate with me.”

“Wait a minute,” Zanna said, “I thought you didn’t go out on your so-called ‘hunts’ alone? Where’s Ren’Li?”

“Well,” Kyra said, shifting her weight into a nonchalant pose, “that’s tricky.”

Zanna glanced over to her friends, who all shared the same confused look that she did. “How’s that?”

Kyra scowled. “We got here and all of a sudden she’s too proud to be a bounty hunter anymore after Vaklu offered her a job.”

“Vaklu? What’s he offering her that Goto or any other crime boss could?” Zanna asked. The question was a fair one- the admittedly high-quality work M.A.R.K 4 did as bounty hunters paid well enough for a life of luxury.

“Right?!” Kyra said laughing, slightly lowering her blaster as she did so. “That’s what I was telling her! But-“ she leaned in closer. “He told her all about his new business partner. Told her that if she did what he said, he’d be able to provide her with the revenge she so desired against that red-head bitch.”

Zanna took a few steps forward, her blood beginning to boil. “Do NOT call Mira that.” She ordered, her voice low and menacing. “She’s a better bounty hunter than you will _ever_ be, and she certainly doesn’t need the help of some shifty partnership like Ren’Li does.”

Kyra snorted. “Oh, little Jedi,” she cooed, “you have no idea what kind of hell is coming your way.”

“I warn you again,” Mical said boldly, taking a step towards Kyra, “do not cross her. We are more skilled than you, and we outnumber you.”

Kyra pursed her lips in thought. “Yeah, that’s true.” Her fingers reached for the trigger as Zanna held up her blades to block the attack.

At the last possible instant, Kyra snapped her hand, changing her aim so that it was to the Jedi’s left and firing her weapon at her target- Mical’s head. Time seemed to stop as Zanna watched helplessly, the blast exploding as it hit the right side of his face, his last look of terror as he took his last breath etching itself into her mind. Blood shot from where her shot had impacted, his head snapping backwards and his body falling to the ground.

“NOOO!” Visas screamed in agony, kneeling down next to the fallen soldier.

Zanna screamed in rage and jumped with the Force right in front of Kyra, who was still smiling. She gritted her teeth, fighting back the tears she felt welling up in her eyes. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” She screamed. She spun her blades in a flurry of attacks, all being avoided by Kyra as she laughed maniacally.

“Give it your best shot,” she dared.

Zanna extended her hand, her anger causing her arm to tremble as she tried to use the Force to crush Kyra.

“You’re even dumber than I thought!” Kyra taunted her. “Don’t you remember? Your shitty force tricks don’t work on me.”

 _‘If you use all of your power, TRULY unleash it,’_ Kreia’s voice entered into her mind, _‘there isn’t a living thing you will not be able to destroy.’_

Zanna shook in fury, her eyes filled with fire. “Show me,” she whispered to the Voice.

_‘As you wish…Excidiya.’_

It almost felt like an electrical surge powering her body- she could feel the Force, the dark side, the _powerful_ side, coursing through her veins as if it replaced the blood in her body. She felt revitalized, like she had been dead and was now finally experiencing life. Her eyes rolled back into her head, her eyes becoming nothing but empty whiteness as she stalked towards the bounty hunter.

Kyra’s skin became pale. “Holy pfassk,” she said quickly, putting her arms up in surrender and dropping her blaster. “Okay! Okay, you got me! You win!”

“I will not win until you have died at my hands!” Zanna hissed. “Until every ounce of your life has been incinerated!”

“Please!” Kyra yelled. “I can tell you who Vaklu is working with- AH!”

Zanna brought Kyra up several feet in the air, putting pressure on her throat. “It doesn’t matter now, you _harpy._ ”

“Sith!” She cried, for once looking sincerely frightened.

Zanna tightened her grip on her telepathic hold of bounty hunter. “What?!

“He’s been getting help- from a Sith! Nigh… Nigh something!” Kyra choked as she struggled for air.

“Nihilus?!” Zanna yelled in fury.

“Yes!” Kyra gasped. Her hands were around her own throat, fighting the invisible menace strangling the life out of her. “They’re going… to attack the palace…kill the Queen! Set trap… for you!”

Zanna was nearly foaming at the mouth- Darth Nihilus, a Sith Lord, and Visas’ old master. He was setting up a trap- for _her_? “I don’t think so.”

Kyra’s eyes were watering and her nose runny. “Please… Let me go!”

Zanna held her gaze on the woman. “Go to hell.”

Kyra’s screams ended with a crunching sound as her neck snapped, Zanna tossing her body to the side. Visas’ sobs echoed into her ears, the blood still boiling. She could feel her eyes returning to normal as she turned around, retracting her blades. Visas was over Mical, her forehead on his chest as she continued to weep. Brianna was kneeling close by in respect, head bowed. Zanna came closer to the Disciple, the fury within her now being joined irrevocable sadness. Her breathing became slow as Mical’s face became clearer- his eyes were closed with his mouth slightly ajar. The upper right side of his face was painted a deep cherry red from the blood, which was now pooling around his head.

Visas’ hitched breathing from her sobs was heavy as she moved her hands to cup his face. “M..M-Mical,” she breathed. “My sweet Mical…”

Zanna sunk slowly to her knees in agony, tears streaming down her face.

 _‘It is because of YOU this has happened.’_ The Voice croaked at her. _‘Had you obeyed the call the Darkness sent to you, this would not have happened. You would have been able to stop this all, without the help of these souls-’_ Zanna stared helplessly at the Disciple as It spoke. ‘- _And undergo such fatal contingencies.’_


	3. Altering Alliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zanna must deal with the repercussions of Mical's death amongst the crew mates as Bao-Dur encounters someone from the past before she meets up with the final Jedi Master, Kavar.

Atton Rand stood up straight, his face looking as if he was about to be sick. He had been leaning over watching a pazaak match between Mira and Nikko, but in a split second, his demeanor shifted from light and relaxed to something deeper…

Mira caught on, twisting her neck to look up at her friend. “Rand?” She asked him, his expression troubled. “Rand, what’s wrong?”

He scratched his stubbly beard. “I don’t know, exactly…” He mumbled. He turned to face the door of the room they were in. “But something big just happened- and it’s not good.”

“How do you know?” Mira inquired quietly.

Atton glanced back down at her. “I can feel it… somehow… through the Force.”

 

 

**_Elsewhere…_ **

 

A pale, slender woman sat in a chamber in isolation. She knelt on the floor in front of a pyramid shaped device- it was black with the top illuminated in bright red. It was emitting a noise, a language indecipherable by most. The woman, however, was capable of understanding the strange language. She sat fixated on the device, keenly listening to every hiss, every grumble, every sound it was exhibiting.

Her attention was broken as a wave of destruction came over her- it was a message from the Force.

_‘Atris…’_

The woman was startled as she heard her name being called. She looked around her chambers to see no one was there. She stood up slowly. “Show yourself.”

_‘Can you feel it?’_

Atris continued looking around the circular chamber for the woman who had spoken. “Where are you?”

_‘It does not matter. This death that you feel, it is the event I have spoken of.’_

Atris’ breathing quickened. “You mean…?”

_‘The time for you to remain hidden shall be over soon.’_

“And the Exile?” She asked, breathless.

_‘HER time, too, will soon be over…’_

 

 

Nearly ten minutes had passed by in a small and secluded, undisturbed street in Iziz since a murder had been committed. Zanna stood on her knees next to the lifeless Mical, whose face was drained of its color- the only thing accompanying the now pale skin was the deep red blood covering nearly half of his face and drenching part of his blonde hair.

Visas Marr was still softly crying to herself at the loss of her companion and lover, stroking his left cheek with her thumb, his head cradled in her hands. The pair had been inseparable since he had joined their party and had kindled a deep relationship somewhere along the journey- and now he was gone. The Exile had had an idea of the true nature of their relationship, but now she realized how utterly tied the two were. Her heart ached, his death didn’t seem like it should be real- he had been so extremely loyal and had risked so much to help Zanna on her quest that, even though he got on her nerves often, thinking of having to proceed without him made her heart feel uneasy.

“Visas…” Zanna breathed empathetically. “I…I’m so sorry…”

The Miraluka didn’t respond; her rapid breathing and occasional sniffles being her communication.

Zanna gingerly reached out to put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Vis-“

She was cut off instantly by an abrupt, split-second attack. Visas had swiftly turned around as she stood up, taking Zanna’s hand and twisting it painfully, then forcefully clasped her hands around the Exile’s throat. She was surprisingly strong, her grip on Zanna’s throat tight enough to truly cause her to become breathless. “THIS IS YOUR FAULT!” Visas screamed. Zanna, despite her many physical feats, was still only around five feet tall and was severely shorter than everyone in the group, and Visas, who was on the taller side of the party, had no struggle raising the tiny woman she towered over high into the air.

“HEY!” Brianna reached for her staff that was secured around her belt, but was pummeled backwards from the Force, flying straight into one of the nearby apartment building walls. Her head hit the wall straight on, and she fell to the ground, concussed and unconscious.

“V-Visas!” Zanna struggled to even produce a word. “I-“ She cringed as Visas exerted more pressure on her throat.

“HAD YOU HAVE STAYED IN THAT DOCTOR’S OFFICE LIKE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!” She screamed. Her upper lip was twitching in anger, and it was the first time since she had repented of her Sith ways and agreed to join Zanna that she had given in to her fury and to the darkness within her. “YOU JUST _HAD_ TO GO AGAINST THE PLAN AND LEAVE, DIDN’T YOU?!”

Zanna’s pigment was becoming fatally light as she struggled in Visas’ hands. “L-listen-“

“No!” Visas bellowed, her face glistening from her tears. “I am _finished_ with obeying orders-“ She brought her face closer to the Exile’s. “Especially from _Sith._ ”

“VISAS!”

Zanna gasped with what little breath she had left in relief as she heard Atton’s voice.

“Visas, what the pfassk are you doing?!” Mira shouted.

“Let the General go; what’s the matter with you?!” Came Bao-Dur.

“I ain’t afraid to take a shot.” Mandalore held his blaster rife up, aimed at the Miraluka.

Visas turned towards them, her teeth gritted in rage. “Blame _me_ for evening the odds?!” She scowled. “Fine.”

Zanna fell to the brick ground face first with a thud, choking for air. She looked at the others. “M…M-“

“HOLY SHIT, MICAL!” Mira yelled.

Visas had stepped away from Zanna, providing the others with a line of sight to the fallen soldier.

"What in the name of Malachor happened here?" Bao-Dur exclaimed.

Atton's eyes widened, filled with both shock and outrage. He leaped forwards and tackled Zanna, restraining her once again by placing one of his knees firmly on her back.

"OW!" She cried as he held her wrists together. "What are you-"

"You killed him?!" He demanded.

"What?! No! Of course not!" She tilted her head towards Kyra, who was lying on the opposite side of the pavilion. " _She_ did."

"Because of YOU!" Visas yelled.

Mira walked over to the limp mass of tangled brown hair and pushed it back to reveal Kyra's face. She exhaled as she pressed two fingers to the side of her neck, the group watching her intently. Mira turned to face them. "She's dead."

Atton glanced down at Zanna. She sighed. " _That_ was me..." She mumbled.

"Then what _did_ happen?" Mandalore growled.

Bao-Dur pointed to the handmaiden. "And who's that?"

Atton stood up, relieving the pressure off of Zanna. "And did you kill _her_ as well?" He asked her coolly.

"If she's dead," Zanna glowered as she stood up, "then that's all on Visas."

The Miraluka stood with a scowl on her face, crossing her arms in angst. "No matter whose lives have been lost in this incident, they all have died because of you."

Zanna exhaled in exasperation. "Visas, Mical knew the risks and all the possible outcomes of following me and coming along, and he accepted them. He knew what they were and decided for HIMSELF he would help. If you think this is something I WANTED or am OKAY with, then you couldn't be more wrong. But it happened. And I am SORRY that it happened, but it was NOT my fault." She furrowed her brows angrily. "Don't let your feelings cloud your judgement."

Visas' mouth gaped open in fury. "How DARE you!" She screamed. She threw Zanna aside with the Force, this time sending her straight into the fountain behind them.

Zanna, slightly taken aback and now soaking wet, jumped up as the group was shouting to one another. Visas evaded the men, who were trying to hold her back as she moved towards the fountain. Zanna saw Visas’ arm coming up-she was going to Force attack her again. Growling, Zanna whipped both hands up, sending a wave of immobility so powerful it was audible to the rest of the party through Visas. “ENOUGH!” She bellowed as water dripped down her face. The group looked over at her, speechless. She glanced around at them, breathing heavily. She walked right up to Visas, who was frozen in place with a horrible frown on her face. She stared at her for a few moments, her lip trembling as she tried to keep her composure. “You’re not the only one who’s upset!” She shouted at the Miraluka. “Okay?! And unless you want more innocent people like him to be slaughtered by the Sith, you need to pay your respects and try your best to move on, not throwing false allegations around! Would Mical want you acting like this?! He and I both know that you’re better than this! So if you want to honor him in the way he _deserves_ to be honored-if you don’t want his death to be in vain- STOP IT.” She took a deep breath, lowering her voice. “I can’t finish this without you. Kyra said that Vaklu’s working with your old master now… I can’t stop him without your help. So please, drop the accusations. You know I would’ve given up my own life before his was taken- before _any_ of yours were taken.”

Visas jolted slightly as she regained her ability to move, her face twisted into a pout. She took a deep breath. “You are right.” Her voice was quiet, but it was sincere. “I… I do not know what came over me.”

Zanna placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s just focus on what needs to be done now.” She looked over to the three men. “Could you guys get Mical? And also Brianna? She’s, uh… she’s out cold.”

Bao-Dur nodded. “On it, general. I’ll get the female.”

Atton looked down at the Disciple, soaked red with blood and half his face obliterated. “He never heard me say anything but shit to him…” He said quietly, shaking his head. “And now he’s gone.”

Bao-Dur bent down and picked up the handmaiden by her waist and began to lift her up and over his shoulder when he heard the faintest noise of static. He looked up and around at the apartment buildings surrounding them, scanning for any abnormalities or even a trace of what produced the sound. He shook his head. “Must be hearing things…” He mumbled to himself.

“So what now?” Mira asked hesitantly as Atton and Mandalore stood up, each with one of Mical’s arms over their shoulder.

“We must honor Mical by sending his spirit away from his body.” Visas said.

Zanna nodded. “I agree; however we can’t do that while we’re in Iziz. It’ll take too long and it might draw some unwanted attention to ourselves. As much as I would like to honor him immediately, we’ll have to wait until we’re at least back on Dxun.”

“We can leave his body in Dhagon’s care in the morgue.” Mandalore suggested. “It’ll be properly preserved until we’re ready to return to base.”

Visas watched sullenly as Mical’s body hung limply while the two men carried him. “What shall we do with _her_ worthless corpse?” She spat, gesturing towards Kyra.

“It ain’t our problem anymore.” Atton said.

“We can’t just leave it here, you dumbass!” Mira said to him. “If any of Vaklu’s guys or the Iziz troops come by here, they’ll start a full investigation; and I know for a fact that off-worlders who have been frantically running around this city being spotted by who knows how many people will be the first suspects.”

Zanna groaned. “I’ll take her and we can figure out what to do with it later.” She walked towards the body of the bounty hunter as the rest of the party began to exit the pavilion.

Atton stopped short. “Wait, hold up.” He said to Mandalore as Visas and Mira passed them into the narrow street.

Bao-Dur stood in front of him with Brianna and glanced over to a steel cylinder that Atton was fixated on. “What is it?”

“Looks like…” His voice trailed off as he looked at the blurry reflection of the apartment buildings behind him. His eyes narrowed as he stared more intently at an open window-there was something that seemed to keep appearing and reappearing. He studied the sight for a few more seconds when a dark turquoise color popped up in the window.

“What’s the hold up?” Zanna asked, a few feet ahead and to the right side of them, dragging Kyra behind her by one of her arms.

The scoundrel turned around, not to answer the Jedi, but to look for the obscure colored object. His eyes scanned the faraway buildings, finally coming across an open window. “There.” He mumbled. He stared intently at the window, when the object appeared again- it was a black and turquoise armored bodysuit with a black helmet. “Oh, no.”

“What’s ‘Oh no’?” Zanna asked with a slightly irritated voice. “We don’t have time for oh no.”

Atton stared briefly, wide-eyed, at the Jedi- a bright, red circular light had appeared on her forehead. “ZAN, MOVE!” He shouted.

She didn’t have time to ask why before he slammed into her, grabbing her as they fell down to the ground. Simultaneously a blast echoed through the pavilion, a bright red shot from a rifle exploding into a wall, right where it would have impacted the Jedi’s head. Zanna looked up at the charred bit of wall, mouth open in shock, and then over to Atton, who was holding on to her tightly from the fall.

“Bloody hell!” Mandalore roared, looking around the pavilion and letting Mical’s body fall as he instinctively brought up his own blaster rifle. “What was that?!”

Visas and Mira came sprinting back, the Miraluka shrieking seeing the Disciple’s corpse on the ground. She punched Mandalore in the chest in fury, screaming “HOW DARE YOU!” as Mira was cursing repeatedly in confusion.

Bao-Dur, who had turned around at the precise moment Atton had shouted to Zanna, had fired a grappling gun up to the open window

“What the-did he have that thing this whole time?!” Mira asked as he went flying through the air to pursue the shooter.

“STOP IT!” Mandalore yelled at Visas, aiming his rifle right at her forehead.

Zanna stared wide-eyed at Atton amongst all the other party members’ chaos, still on the ground. “What was that?!”

“You need to get away from here.” He said, not answering the question. Standing up, he grabbed the Jedi under one of her arms and helped her up. He turned to the others and shouted, “Move!”

“But what about Bao-Dur?!” Mira shouted, pointing to the window he had disappeared to.

“He’s not just a tech,” Atton said. “He’s also a soldier- a good one, at that. But besides that fact, the Iziz police will be here any second from all the commotion that’s been going on here and we can’t afford to be sent to jail! So GO!”

“Damn, I’m going!” Mira huffed in response to his forceful glare.

Zanna looked back to where Bao-Dur had fled and hesitated. “What if he’s in trouble?” She asked the group.

“I do not sense that he is in any harm.” Visas proclaimed. “I think we should follow the pilot’s council.”

Atton glanced over at Visas, stunned. “Really? Huh. Well that’s a first.”

“Do not push you luck.” She scowled back at him.

“Fair enough.”

“For Malachor’s sake, let’s get of here!” Mandalore yelled, picking Mical up and heaving him over his shoulder.

Atton walked to where Brianna was on the ground. “I’ll get the lady.”

Zanna followed behind the group, her hands placed on the hilts of her lightsabers, thoroughly stunned from the events from the past half hour.

 _‘Something has changed inside you…’_ She heard. _‘Your heart now carries the weight and the guilt of your companion’s death.’_

 _‘And why wouldn’t I?’_ She answered silently as she continued to walk behind the others. _‘It’s all my fault…’_

_‘His blood was not directly spilt at your hands, Excidiya. You did not murder him directly. Just because the circumstance of his death was something involving you, it doesn’t make his death yours for blame.’_

_‘I guess…’_

_‘I can sense you still desire to avenge him.’_

_‘But I did,’_ She defended. _‘I killed Kyra for him.’_

 _‘Ahhhh,’_ Kreia’s voice cooed. _‘But the huntress admitted she was merely a puppet to a more powerful adversary.’_

Zanna’s eyes widened. _‘Nihilus… of course. But how do I destroy him? He’s been in hiding for years.’_

_‘Vaklu’s forces have joined with His.’_

_‘So, what?’_

_‘You may choose what to do about it. Just remember what you felt when you saw that blast hit his face. Remember your rage when you saw the instant his life ended-and the feeling you underwent, that SATISFACTION, as you crushed her body for the injustice she caused. Remember all of that, Excidiya. And then decide how to best rectify that injustice.’_

“Zanna?”

The young Jedi looked up to see Mira staring at her. The rest of the group save Bao-Dur were standing in the morgue at Dhagon’s building, all circling Mical’s body, which had been placed on a table in the center of the room. “What?” She said, looking around. “How did we get here so fast?”

Atton raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Just answer the question, Hal.” Mandalore said in exasperation.

Zanna blinked in confusion. “What question?”

Mira groaned. “Oh, for Sith’s sake…”

“The question,” Dhagon Ghent asked from behind her, startling her, “was what exactly did you do to the other body? I ain’t never seen a corpse with such little trace of anything that would lead to death.”

She swallowed nervously. “Uh… it’s just a Jedi thing.”

“Or a _Sith_ thing…” Visas mumbled.

Zanna glared at her threateningly. “If you still got a problem with me, go back to Nihilus. Go back to being tortured and treated as lower than dirt.”

Visas breathed deeply in fury, but remained silent.

“That’s what I thought.” Zanna said.

“Zan?” Atton said quietly from across the table. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

She nodded, then followed him as he walked out of the morgue and into the hallway. They stood for a few moments, both quite unsure about how this would go. Atton’s face was twisted in thought and he looked at the ground; something was bothering him.

“What’s wrong?” She asked him.

He folded his arms and took a deep breath before looking at her straight in the eyes. “Did you let him die?” He asked coldly.

Zanna stared at him in angry confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Did you _let_ him die?!” He repeated more intensely. “Did you just stand there? Did you stand while you could’ve done something? Did you take pleasure as he died?”

“I can’t believe you’re asking me this,” she whispered in a hurt tone.

“Well I- I just don’t know exactly what you are right now, okay?” He seemed overwhelmed and concerned, but he also looked like he was expecting a confession.

She furrowed her brows. “What I _am_?!” She asked incredulously.

He snorted. “Oh, I’m sorry; is my cautiousness and distrust irritating you?” He asked with attitude. “Because by all means, let me know if I’m being inconsiderate, since apparently proper etiquette in treating someone who just about MURDERS you is much more friendly than I thought it was!”

“Look-“

“Ooh, I know! Let’s all start a campfire so we can cremate our our murdered friend and we can all hold hands in a circle and sing songs about peace and harmony!”

“ATTON!” Zanna screamed. “STOP!” She held her face in her hands, incredibly overwhelmed by his accusations. “I didn’t _ask_ for this, for ANY of this! Okay?!” She looked up at him desperately. “I didn’t ask to be pursued by an army of Sith, or by bounty hunters, or to have this weird Force bond that makes me another person because an old witch has taken over my brain and my thoughts! You know what she said to me?! What she calls me?! She’s given me a new NAME- a _Sith Lord_ name because she knows I’m breaking! She knows that all of these things on Iziz are tearing me down and that soon I’m going to be weak enough for her to completely take over, just like she did when she made me try to-“ She stopped, shaking her head. “I just can’t stop it. It’s irreversible. I’m trying to fight it. I really am. And I would have given up my life if it would have spared Mical’s.”

Atton stared at her, his mind spinning. “Would you?”

She gawked at him. “I was set to find Kavar on my own so you all wouldn’t have to be around me. I didn’t-I _don’t_ -want what happened with you to happen again. I couldn’t live with myself if it did.”

He looked at her intently, almost as if she was hiding something. “And why should I believe that?”

She pursed her lips and took a deep breath. “Atton, I love you. I meant it when I said it before, and I mean it just as much now. After all we’ve been through, you should know well enough- and I think there’s still a part of you that knows- that I didn’t want to hurt _anybody_. In the cantina, on Dxun, and several times before, I couldn’t control it. The Zanna you know wouldn’t have done that- especially to you.”

He looked down at the ground, arms still folded.

“And if you don’t believe that, _truly_ do not believe that the person I am and thatthe Zanna you met on Peragus and came to know before Korriban would do that to you, tell me. Right here, right now.”

She stood before him, waiting for him to answer. He bit his lip as he continued to look down at the ground. Finally, without a word, he looked at her for a moment in the eyes, then turned around and walked back into the morgue.

Zanna looked after him, sighing. With the littlest hint of a smile, she whispered to herself, “I knew it.”

 

 

 

Bao-Dur grunted as he pulled himself onto a balcony ledge, looking into the room ahead. A woman with turquoise armor was kneeling on the ground, zipping up a bag.She looked up, her face was hidden underneath a black helmet. White patches of light where the eyes would have been illuminated through the helmet- but Bao-Dur already knew who it was. “Camila.”

She held her gaze on the Iridonian. “What do you want?” Her voice was being hidden with a modulator- it was deeper and more gravely than he knew it to be.

He shakily walked towards her. “I… I thought you had died…”

“Yeah, I’m sorry your careful plan of abandonment was fruitless.” She said coldly.

“You know that’s not what happened.”

“How did you even know it was me?”

“I’d recognize that suit anywhere.”

“I thought I saw you down there when I was looking for the General.” She said, standing up and slinging the bag over her shoulder.

“What’s with the voice modulator, Camila?” He asked in confusion. “Why all the secrecy?”

“At least two of you down there know who I am, what I look like, and what I sound like.” She responded. “I couldn’t have the risk of being recognized.”

Bao-Dur sighed. “Well, could you humor me and take it off?”

She snorted. “Why should I do that, Bao-Dur?”

He stared her down, his eyes narrowing. “Since you tried to assassinate my friend, I think you owe me that after all we’ve been through.”

She stood still for a few moments. “Fine.” She pressed a button on the side of her neck where the armor’s collar was, and the pieces of the black helmet all slid down into the suit, revealing her face. She wasn’t entirely human, but close enough. She had multiple piercings on her lips, nose and ears, and a small tattoo of a symbol directly adjacent to her right eye, the grey iris staring at the Zabrak. She put a hand to her purple mohawk, fluffing it up since it had been slicked down for the helmet. She smirked at him. “Happy?”

Bao-Dur stood, fists clenched, in fury. “What are you doing here?!”

“My job.” She answered coldly. “Though I could ask you the same thing.”

“Why were you trying to murder the General?”

She sighed. “Look, I’d love to stay and chat, Bao-Dur- I miss you, it’s been a long time and we can catch up over a cup of caffa later if you so please- but I need to get back to my employer.”

Bao-Dur held up a blaster at her. “Come on, Drazh. Come with me and you won’t get hurt.”

She laughed incredulously. “Wow. If only you had said those words to me back on Malachor, Bao-Dur. Maybe then I wouldn’t have gone through the hell I did- the hell _you_ put me through.”

“Drazh, I-“

“And speaking of things that we owe each other, I trust you won’t say anything to the rest of your little pack down there of our affiliation.” Camila said overconfident.

Bao-Dur sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t know if I can let you have this one…”

Drazh’s face screwed up in anger as she seemingly flew the space between them, taking out a serrated blade from her suit and putting it against his throat. “After leaving me on that rock without even telling me, you owe me _more_ than this one.”

His grip on his blaster wavered, his guilt creeping up within him. “I’m desperately sorry about what happened. It’s haunted me ever since-“

With a bang, smoke filled the room. Bao-Dur coughed as he tried to fan some of the remaining smoke away as it slowly dissipated from the room. Once it cleared, he looked around for Camila Drazh- but she was long gone.

 

 

Zanna remained quiet on her isolated walk to the cantina. She had changed into clothing more custom to Onderon, as she realized she stuck out like a sore thumb with the neophyte armor and her physical appearance. She sighed, pulling her brown hood over her head, silent and numb with grief. She glanced upwards at the bright lights. _I should have been alone since Peragus…_ Her heart ached thinking about her friends who were innocently but eternally wrapped into her journey, risking their lives for her… _losing_ their lies for her. She shuddered, her eyes feeling the familiar sting of tears beginning to form.

 _‘You have business to attend to.’_ She heard. _‘You don't have time for this.’_

Zanna’s blood began to boil. _‘This is all YOUR fault, Kreia. And if you have a problem with me having just two minutes to think for myself, you can find another puppet to complete your evil plans for you.’_

_‘Do not let your feelings cloud your judgement. Regardless of what you feel for your subordinates, you must keep the end goal of this journey in mind- it still is of the utmost importance to everyone, correct?’_

She sighed. _‘I suppose.’_

 _‘Good.’_ It hissed. _‘So stop with your insufferable pouting.’_

She tried her best to muster her anger before her meeting, or else she knew it was a total lost cause. Kavar would know immediately she’d been struggling with the Dark Side anyway. She certainly looked like a Sith with her skin, but at least with that she had a valid excuse. As for her eyes, they were still mostly blue- although a thin yellow ring around her iris had made itself prominent.

As she entered the cantina, aliens of many kinds along with a few humans scattered about all seemed strangely on edge, and it didn't help Zanna’s confidence in the slightest. She took a deep breath to herself and pushed her way past the inhabitants into a room more in the back, her eyes peeled for her old Jedi Master. “There he is…” She breathed to herself.

Jedi Master Kavar was standing beside a table in the square room, his arms crossed and his fingers tapping his forearms. He was still wearing his Jedi robes, much to Zanna’s surprise. He was a tall and slender man with short brown hair and a warmer looking face than she remembered the other Masters to be. He looked up and locked eyes with the younger Jedi. “Hal.”

She briskly walked, closing the space between them, and bowed her head. “Master Kavar.”

“You must have gone through a lot of effort to set up this meeting.” He said, looking down at her. “The Palace is at full battle readiness; smuggling in a message is no small task.”

She shrugged. “Well, I have my ways…”

He chuckled lightly. “So it would seem.” He glanced around the room, almost to make sure that no one was watching them. “I have _my_ ways as well. I’ve heard about a band of off-worlders fraternizing with Dhagon Ghent- who just was released out of prison.”

Zanna gulped, but didn't reply. She merely stared at him, begging him to keep talking. Perhaps he’d get off the subject…

“I imagine he was the one who was able to make contact with me, not many people on Iziz are able to do so.” He tilted his head more down towards the exile. “But a bigger question remains- why are you here? I imagine that you hold little love for any of the Jedi Council any more…” He sighed, a weak smile on his face. “Even an old friend.”

Zanna’s heart felt heavy. It was true that she had a more trusting kinship and closeness to Kavar than any of the other Council members, and it was especially backstabbing when he too voted her out of the Order. “Kavar…” she said quietly. “Why did you do it? Why did you cast me out? _Exile_ me?”

Kavar inhaled deeply, shaking his head. “Hal, you have to understand… that… it was a time of great uncertainty.” His hands clasped together and he rubbed them anxiously. “We just learned that Darth Revan was back with an armada. Nearly every Jedi that went with his was…” He struggled with the words as he tried to complete his sentence. “Was… lost. Corrupted. Even as dark as their Master.” He paused and once again locked eyes with Zanna. “And then there was you. They thought you were a spy…”

“What did _you_ think?” She asked him, a quiet desperation in her voice.

He looked off to the side, a look of uneasiness upon his face. “Well, it’s too late for my words mean anything now, does it?”

“So how was I exiled?” Her voice was louder now, though strained.

“There’s more to it than that.” Kavar said, pleading with her. “And I think you deserve an expl-”

“Am I interrupting?!”

They both turned towards the large opening to the rest of the cantina, where a man with an orange and yellow suit of armor strolled in. He had a stern look on his downturned face, his greying hair in a sharp cut barely above his hairline. He walked towards them slowly but stopped a few feet away from them. However, more men in similar sets of orange armor all filed in, scattering around the room, all holding blaster rifles in their hands, effectively surrounding the Jedi. “In orbit I thought for sure that the Ebon Hawk was mine. I was _certain…_ only to see you SLIP through my fingers during the battle!” He snickered. “Imagine my _delight_ to discover that you were on Iziz!” He chuckled callously. “Quite careless, really, if you ask me.”

Zanna’s brow furrowed. “YOU’RE the one who shot me out of the pfassking sky!” She reached for her lightsaber. “You’re Tobin!”

“Get them, men!” General Tobin yelled, pointing at the pair. “And watch your aim! Civilian casualties cause a mess of paperwork!”

Kavar instantly stretched his hands out and immobilized all of the hostiles in the room before turning quickly to Zanna. “I must return to the Palace!”

She shook her head frantically. “But-”

“I’ll get word to you when I’m able. Run!” He commanded her, he himself using the Force to exit the room and undoubtedly the establishment with the help of the Force.

Tobin unfroze, turning towards where Kavar ran off to. “Wh-WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY MEN?!” He screamed in frustration. “Blast… Men, take care of her! I won’t let Kavar escape!” He too ran away at an intense speed.

“Oh for the love of-” Zanna grumbled to herself as the rest of the troops began to become mobile once again. She brought both of her lightsabers up, spinning them in front of her as the first shot had fired from a blaster. She blocked it neatly and it bounced back and hit the trooper in the chest, sending him backwards. She leapt to her left, flying over another one of the men who had fired his weapon to where she had been a moment before but had accidentally shot one of his own who had been just next to her straight in the face, sending him down to the ground face-first, dead.

Other patrons in the room had begun screaming, some trying to run through the firefight towards safety. _‘Dammit…”_ Zanna thought to herself as she spun her lightsabers around, reflecting shots all around her. “CIVILIANS!” She shouted out as loud as she could. “STAY WHERE YOU- OOF!” She was suddenly on the dusty ground after a kick to her back. She grunted as she flipped to her back and gasped as one of the troopers was aiming at her head.

“STOP THE FIGHTING!” She heard Tobin cry out. “STOP!” She looked over to the cantina, where he came at a light jogging pace.

The man above her growled, yet obeyed orders and lowered his weapon from his target. Zanna scuttled back on the ground to get away from him.

“Sergeant, take care of the witnesses,” Tobin said nonchalantly as he made his way back into the room. He walked over to where the Jedi sat and extended an arm down to her. “I’m sorry we had to do that.”  
She took his help to stand up, then scrunched up her face in frustration. “What the bloody hell was that for?!” She exclaimed.

He straightened himself up. “Appearances have to be maintained, as I’m sure you could understand, and I’m afraid we don’t have much time.”

“Okay then,” Zanna said angrily, “talk.”

“We have allies… terrible allies.” He said with a wicked grin. “They want you dead.”

An uneasy feeling arose in Zanna’s core. _‘Nihilus…’_ She thought to herself in fury.

“However,” Tobin continued, “the General believes you could ultimately be an even greater ally. But we have to maintain appearances…” He looked down at her, wide-eyed. “Do you understand?” He spoke the last portion of his words slowly, as if she was a teenager.

She stared at him, a frown on her face. “Don’t patronize me, _General_ , of course I understand.”

He smacked his lips in embarrassment. “I… meant no offense, I’m sorry.”

She took a step towards him. “You don’t know who I am, do you?” She asked him coolly. “I’m no street rat. No mercenary. I’d advise you to take some caution when talking to me. Now, when I ask you this next question, I expect a clear and concise response.” She cleared her throat. “Now, why does your leader want an alliance with _me?_ ”

“You helped Anda with some... exterminating a few key individuals who have been a large problem for us.” Tobin replied immediately. “In doing so, you have proven yourself already more of an ally- and more of a faithful one, at that-than the ones we currently have.”

“Then you must have some simple minds on your side.” She retaliated quickly. “Not so helpful when you’re trying to gain control over a planet, is it?”

Tobin smiled. “Looking past your insulting sarcasm, you’re correct. That’s why Vaklu would like to form an alliance with you. It would, of course, be in your interest as well as ours. After we conquer the palace, whatever inhabitants inside shall be yours to deal with- including the Queen… and Kavar.” He pursed his lips in a smile. “And, who knows, perhaps more down the road, we can assist you in whatever purposes you may need.”

 _‘This is exceptional.’_ The Voice told her. _‘We could use a force such as Vaklu’s when we undoubtedly must fight in the future. This could yield significant results in your favor, Excidiya.’_

Ignoring the name It called her, she noted in agreement. “Alright.”

“There is one other thing,” Tobin said, a slight look of hesitancy on his face, “that Vaklu would like you to do in exchange.”

Zanna crossed her arms. “And what would that be?”

“We’d like to ask you for aide in dealing with our ‘ally’…” He grimaced. “A Sith Lord. It’s a lot to ask of, but we need our ties with them severed permanently.” He tilted his head up. “Would you be willing to go up against a Sith Lord?”

Zanna chuckled. “Absolutely.”


End file.
